Forge World Solar Auxilia

June 14, 2015, 8:34 am

≫ Next: GM - The Independent Fantasy Roleplaying Magazine

≪ Previous: From the Lead Pile - Melnibonean Madness

This past week I’ve been busy working on a Solar Auxilia Veletaris Storm Section from Forge World. Now I’ve heard plenty of shitty things said about Forge World stuff over the years, miscasts, excessive gating and damaged items being the main issues I recall. So when I settled down to start work on these models I was a little apprehensive. Turns out they were fine though. The castings were pretty good and everything went together reasonably well. There were three minor breakages but seeing as these were not sent to me direct from FW I can’t hold that against them. One model had part of the shoulder rail missing but that was a fairly easy fix with a bit of metal rod and some putty. The other two models had the speaker/lamp thing on the left hand side of their back packs broken off. Another easy fix to pin them back on although there was a moments panic when I realised only one piece was rattling around the packet they came in! Thankfully I had a spare piece after discovering that the comms trooper needed his removing to fit the aerial to his back pack. All was good then.

I’ve not followed FW’s output for a while and I’m really not up to date with GW either so these models are something quite different for me considering where they’re from. I think they’re great though and have a hint of steam punk, Fallout and even a touch of Bioshock about them. They could be shoe horned into all manner of backgrounds.

I was hoping to have more of the section done by now but a combination of underestimating how time consuming they were going to be plus a week of not getting enough sleep just worked against me. So here they are so far, half a section ready to have their bases painted.

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GM - The Independent Fantasy Roleplaying Magazine

June 19, 2015, 1:59 pm

≫ Next: Forge World Solar Auxillia finished

≪ Previous: Forge World Solar Auxilia

I love a bit of nostalgia. Anybody remember GM - The Independent Fantasy Roleplaying Magazine? It was set up by Tim Metcalfe, Paul Boughton and Wayne (yep, just Wayne!) and according to the first issues editorial was an antidote to 'in house' magazines of the time (White Dwarf perhaps?) and intended to show everything that the fantasy roleplay scene had to offer. Issue number 1 came out in September 1988 and ran for 19 issues (oddly split into two volumes with the first 12 being volume 1) until March 1990 when it went tits up. The gang went on to produce Games Master International - The Independent Fantasy Gaming Monthly a little later that same year.

I found GM in 1989 with the March issue, Vol.1 No.7 which it seems surprisingly enough was the same month I started buying White Dwarf (issue 111). I guess they must have been on the same shelf at the newsagents. It was really interesting to see that a world of gaming existed outside of Games Workshop, although I'd hardly been into 'The Hobby TM' for long enough to be totally indoctrinated into a GWombie (maybe more of a 90's onwards phenomenon anyway). I bought every issue after that one and was gutted when it just disappeared the following year.

In the late 90's prior to me going to university I had a bit of a clear out and threw away all my magazines, including all 15 issues of Games Master International and around 50 issues of White Dwarf. Really wish I hadn't but then that's why we have Ebay today! Had a bit of a pang of nostalgia the other week, did a quick search and found a job lot of GM magazines, 18 out of the 19 and another seller who had the missing issue. Got the job lot for a mere 99p! Postage and the single issue cost a bit more of course but it all worked out as still being a bargain price in my mind. Most of the mags are in good nick, a couple are a little tatty and one has a bit of water damage but I can't complain for the price.

It's fantastic looking back on these and especially the first six issues that I missed. A real window back into a different age of gaming. I suppose in some ways some of it is familiar as GW are still here and games like Battletech and various RPGs are still around but there's a lot that's very much of the time. Adverts for interactive phone line games like Steve Jackson's F.I.S.T. are a bizarre concept today. There were also a huge amount of Play by Mail games as well. I remember playing three PBMs in the 90's, Kingdom by Sloth Enterprises, then later I moved onto A Bledian Diary and Dieu Et Mon Droit. Computer gaming was still largely at the point and click stage. Oh, and so much live roleplay back when it was still LRP rather than LARP (why add the 'A'?). General gaming issues of the time seemed to be GW and their influence (some things never change), and religion versus roleplaying.

There were some great articles including Paul Benson's The Paint Shop featuring some of his lovely old school paint work, Reader's Miniatures which I wish had been a larger section, and in later issues a series of short articles called Historical Alternatives. These covered different historical eras and provided an introduction to something other than fantasy/sci-fi. There were also RPG scenarios and one in particular that stuck with me, it was called Infernalia and covered adventuring in Dante's vision of Hell. Some years later I bought the Divine Comedy based purely on that scenario, I only read Inferno and part of Purgatorio though.

I might scan a few pictures from these issues, especially some of the miniatures that are shown. It would be nice to scan whole articles too but I know some people will 'tut' at that so maybe I won't go that far. Anyway, that's my little shot of nostalgia. Might need to keep an eye out for copies of Games Master International now and I've already started down the slippery slope of collecting old issues of White Dwarf (wow, is that an entirely different mag if you go back before triple figures!).

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Forge World Solar Auxillia finished

June 21, 2015, 7:27 am

≫ Next: Red Box Games Norse

≪ Previous: GM - The Independent Fantasy Roleplaying Magazine

Well here we are, squad done! These took a little bit longer than I'd hoped but I'm pleased with the end result. I wanted something that looked gritty and industrial and the bare metal armour brings that out nicely I reckon. These are really good models and I'm sure they could be used for all manner of things besides 40K. One little detail that's quite nice is the compressor on their back packs which has the bellows at different stages of compression from one model to the next.

Next in the queue are some more RBG models which will be a nice change.

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Red Box Games Norse

June 27, 2015, 10:43 am

≫ Next: Ye olde White Dwarf

≪ Previous: Forge World Solar Auxillia finished

Just a quick update again. I started work on some RBG Norse types last week and have the first 4 done. These have been a nice change from the uniformity of the Forge World stuff I did previously but they're equally time consuming to paint. There are a few more to do next week as well. Bases are all resin.

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Ye olde White Dwarf

July 4, 2015, 2:55 pm

≫ Next: Red Box Games Norse warband

≪ Previous: Red Box Games Norse

Whilst I wait for the varnish to dry on the various Red Box Games models I’ve been painting recently I thought I’d take another wander down memory lane, this time with White Dwarf. It seems rather timely as well considering the changes to Warhammer right now so if all of that malarkey is making your head spin wrap yourself up in more comfortable times of truly fantastic art work and yellowing pages.

The very first issue of White Dwarf that I bought was number 111 in March 1989.

Being relatively new to GW still this really helped to introduce me to the worlds that GW had created. I kept buying the magazine, or rather my mum did and I saw all sorts of new products appear. With the advent of the 90’s I saw things change rather more. Games aimed at a younger audience, sculpting and painting styles change, a change in art style and changes to what White Dwarf offered. By issue 158 (as far as I can recall) in 1993 I was bored with it.

The tedious battle reports were just filler and I was more interested in the era of models and games that I’d first come into so I didn’t get another issue. I acquired issues 108, 109 and 110 at some point and they were a welcome diversion but GW and White Dwarf had moved on, passed me by.

Over the following years in the 90’s I dipped in and out of GW, or at least the GW I remembered by painting up some of my old models but by the time I was preparing to go to university I’d packed it all in. I had a bit of a clear out and decided that all those White Dwarfs weren’t needed so they got binned. In fact I ripped each copy in half before dropping them into the black bin bag just to show how much I was done with it!

As the years have gone by I’ve regretted dumping my old magazines as they had some great stuff in them but I’ve resisted the temptation to collect them again as it’s something that could get out of hand. I only had about 50 or so magazines but the obsessive collector in me would be likely to want more than just my little bit of GW history. However, I can be rather weak willed at times and that can lead to some pretty serious obsessions. A moments reminiscence about White Dwarf, an idle Ebay search and before I knew it I’d bought a few old copies! All from prior to my original run of magazines so not a part of my personal history but a great window into an earlier era of GW and White Dwarf. Anyway, that led to my picking up a good sized job lot of magazines and that’s resulted in me having a good chunk of early White Dwarf history.

The earliest issue I’ve got here (top left of the first pic) is number 7 from June/July 1978 resplendent with John Blanche cover art. It’s in pretty good nick for something so old. Surprisingly slim too at a mere 27 pages.

The cover art on these early issues is fantastic in my opinion. It’s real fantasy art and I find it really inspirational in contrast to later cover art that whilst good at times isn’t in the same league. Currently it’s interesting to hear people gushing over the new Age of Sigmar art work but it does little for me, even when it’s by the likes of Blanche. This is White Dwarf when it was a role play mag and when all manner of games were represented. It’s a White Dwarf with a letters page that allowed readers to bitch about the changing content of the magazine and the increased addition of GW products too! A reminder perhaps that ‘we’ have been griping on at GW for decades!

So with all the hoo hah going on with AoS right now I’m happy to dig through the past and go through scenarios for AD&D, Call of Cthulu and Paranoia, read up on the latest releases that are either long gone or several editions down the line now, and read Dave Langford’s reviews for novels that may well be long out of print. Ahhh… the warm glow of nostalgia, even if it’s someone elses. I’m a vampire for it and I’ll suck your history dry!

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Red Box Games Norse warband

July 7, 2015, 5:31 am

≫ Next: Infinity battlesuit

≪ Previous: Ye olde White Dwarf

Another quick update here. I've finally finished the little warband of RBG Norse warriors I've been working on so here they are in all their glory.

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Infinity battlesuit

July 18, 2015, 1:29 pm

≫ Next: Infinity Nomads

≪ Previous: Red Box Games Norse warband

It’s that time again! After doing the RBG stuff I got to paint a few models that weren’t quite so taxing. I can’t show them yet but they were fun to do and a much needed change. After those though I ploughed straight on into another batch of Infinity Nomads, so no rest for the wicked, or some such bollocks (when I first typed that line I managed to put ‘suck’ instead of ‘such’. H and K aren’t next to one another on the keyboard. Very Freudian!).

If there’s one thing you can guarantee with Infinity models it’s that they will take bloody ages to clean up and assemble. They do like to break a model down into as many pieces as they can! Looking at the assembled models I’m sure a few could have been made with fewer parts. They’re also prone to make the occasional delicate part that is nigh on impossible to pin but that really needs to be pinned! That was a bad habit of Knight Models too from what I recall after assembling some of their Star Wars models.

As part of this batch of models there’s a big battlesuit from the Iguana Squad set. I hadn’t paid much attention to this model when it had arrived, I’d just put it in the ‘to do’ pile and gotten on with things. When it came to assembling this beast though I quickly realised it was going to be a lot bigger than most things I paint. It stands about 65mm tall and will be mounted on a 55mm base when finished. I really should have taken a scale shot with a ‘regular’ sized model but I forgot about that until I’d put the camera and lights away (typical!).

Frustratingly this is still a WIP as it’s taking a lot longer to paint up than I first estimated. It’s coming along pretty well though and should make a nice army centre piece. I approached the painting of this a little differently to how I normally work. I usually paint one part of a model entirely before moving onto the next part. So for example I might paint a model’s trousers, do all the highlighting and then paint the shirt and all of it’s highlights and so on. These armoured pieces from Infinity though have a lot of different surfaces and sections to paint and unless everything is going to be the same colour, which would be boring, it’s important to plan the placement of the different colours. I like to make sure there’s enough contrast between different colours and the armour plates and details are broken up enough by those colours so with this piece I ended up applying all the base colours before moving onto the highlighting. So that’s black, dark grey, red and off-white. It really helped me to get an idea of what I was aiming for with the final paint job and a few areas got repainted if the colour placement didn’t work. The off-white chest plate and sections on the weird codpiece started off dark grey but as the composition came together I realised they needed to contrast more and create more of a focal point.

Due to the size of this piece it really needs plenty of painted details to bring it to life so I’ve started adding little symbols and information text (just dots and squiggles at this scale) where appropriate. The number on the front is a decal left over from when I painted up a Bloodbowl team. I think a few more things are needed here and there just to make it ‘pop’ if you will.

Hopefully it’ll be done soon.

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Infinity Nomads

August 2, 2015, 7:45 am

≫ Next: Hasslefree de ja vu

≪ Previous: Infinity battlesuit

Well, it’s been a little while since my last post but better late than never I guess. I’ve been busy finishing off Infinity stuff as part of the same commission as the large battle suit I showed last time. Facebookers will have likely seen a few pics of these models already. It’s taken a while to get them done purely down to my misjudging the amount of work that was needed to complete that large battle suit. You can see in this picture just how big that bugger is.

It’s funny because many times in the past I’ve seen pictures of larger models but then when I’ve got the figure in hand it’s not seemed quite as big as I perhaps expected. That was the case with various Rogue Trader era dreadnoughts and Warhammer demons from the same time. I’d built up this impression over the years that they were huge but they turned out to not live up to expectation. With this battle suit though the reverse was true as it ended up being much larger than I expected. As I said last time, it’s a fantastic centre piece.

Apart from that there’s the Daktaris who is a doctor apparently and not a sexy stripper cat monkey woman. Oddly enough this model has big googly anime eyes rather than the more realistic eyes of the other models I’ve done from the Infinity range. They painted up nicely though and suit the figure.

There’s Zoe and II-Well. No idea what role Zoe has within the Nomad forces and II-Well judging by his gawky pose looks none too well! He’s a fun little goof-bot though and I really enjoyed painting him up. I decided to go with orange as his main colour rather than red because I liked the studio paint job and thought it would be a nice change from yet more red.

Finally there’s Moran, Maasai Hunter. Not my favourite model but he also comes with a pair of goof-bots which are rather fun. They’re Crazy Koalas apparently and are just funny as balls. I wouldn’t have thought to pair koalas with a Maasai guy but maybe continents don’t mean much in the future! I decided to give them the same colour scheme as II-Well to liven things up.

Next week will be a welcome change of pace as I’ll be tackling some more Tsuba Miniatures Russo-Japanese War Japanese. Mostly cavalry but a few other bits and pieces that will be familiar to most Tsuba fans.

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Hasslefree de ja vu

August 17, 2015, 2:51 am

≫ Next: Harlequin

≪ Previous: Infinity Nomads

Just a quick one today as time is limited. I’ve been painting more Hasslefree stuff again. Most of these I’ve already painted at some point in the past so I’ve tried to vary the colour schemes slightly where possible whilst also sticking roughly to what I’d done on those previous attempts (at the request of the client). As ever, these things always paint up nicely. These are yet again resin masters and if nothing else that means they are at least quick to prep. Anyway, onto the pics…

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Harlequin

August 29, 2015, 5:11 am

≫ Next: Mordheim wizard & Tsuba RJW

≪ Previous: Hasslefree de ja vu

It’s been a little while since my last post but I’ve been busy as ever. I’ve been working through more Tsuba Miniatures Russo-Japanese War stuff. This time dismounted Japanese cavalry. I’m just waiting for some more grass tufts to arrive so I can finish off their bases.

I’ve also started a set of GW Eldar Harlequins. Thankfully these are mostly the older metal castings. I do have a couple of Failcast ones to do though but they don’t look as bad as the very first castings GW put out. I’ve prepped one of those models (a Death Jester) and it wasn’t too bad. Only a few minor air bubbles but an annoying amount of gating all over the model, especially little triangles beneath all the undercuts. It’s still a horribly soft material to work with though and so easy to accidentally remove detail during clean up. The model also looked like it was limbo dancing so I had to stick it over the kettle to soften it and bend it into a better position.

Anyway, the painted model here is metal which to be honest I also found quite time consuming to clean up. The one problem with more recent GW metal castings in my limited experience is the amount of little bits of mould vent sprue that are all over the place. You know the stuff. Those little curly wurly bits of metal that are left. The vents are needed to ensure the model casts properly but they’re bloody annoying to remove when there are so many. It’s easy to miss the odd one or think it’s a bit of twiddly detail and I know in my younger days I’ve painted them as if they’re part of the model!

I had hoped to have gotten a little further into the set than just the one model but I forgot just how draining it can be painting diamond designs (or checks). Base coat yellow, paint the red design over it, go back and neaten up the yellow, go back and neaten up the red…. I’m quite pleased with the end result though. There were a few tricky areas where the pattern had to be fudged a little to make it work but they’re out of sight. Looking at the box art and the studio paint jobs I’m amazed at the precision of those designs considering the curves and creases that they cover.

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Mordheim wizard & Tsuba RJW

September 13, 2015, 8:17 am

≫ Next: Eldar Harlequins

≪ Previous: Harlequin

It’s that time again where I try and convince everyone I’ve been busy painting. I’m still working on the Eldar Harlequins I mentioned in my last post. It’s painfully slow going though as the freehand patterns are a real time killer. To avoid going completely insane I had a little break and painted a Mordheim wizard. This is a nice hefty model and was a pleasant change to work on. The colour scheme is ripped straight from the studio paint job.

I also finished off the bases of the Tsuba Miniatures RJW stuff I painted the other week. Managed to squeeze in a machine gun team too. Got some cavalry command in the queue to do as well. Took a bunch of pics of everything but the mounted cavalry still look a bit washed out. Need to improve my lighting or have a bit of a fiddle with my camera. Things usually come out alright when the camera is in close but pulling back a bit to fit larger things in view is when the problems start.

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Eldar Harlequins

September 27, 2015, 8:37 am

≫ Next: Crooked Dice villainous Archetypes

≪ Previous: Mordheim wizard & Tsuba RJW

These buggers have taken bloody ages to do! They’re quite nice models even though I’m more partial to the original sculpts from the 80’s. The Death Jester is probably my favourite sculpt (and paint job) from this lot with the Shadowseer being a bit of a damp squib of a model for me. Both of these are Finecast as opposed to the rest of the models which are metal. I think I mentioned a few minor issues with the Death Jester in a previous post but in comparison the Shadowseer had quite a few more air bubbles which needed filling. Nothing too bad but an aggravation all the same. The staff was a bit bendy too but I couldn’t safely do anything with that as I didn’t want to attempt softening it and risk being left with wet spaghetti! It’s not too noticeable thankfully.

The first model I painted got a little repaint to make him fit in better with the rest and their darker colour schemes. I also used a bit of gloss varnish on the metals and gems for a change to lift them. It looks nice but has created some additional reflections in my photographs so some of the gems have double highlights by the look of them. Talking of photographs these also proved to be a bit of a pain to do. I was hoping to just line them up and snap a couple of group shots but with them having arms and legs waving all over the place it just looked cluttered. Swords were in faces and weapons were clashing so they all got individual pictures taken in the end.

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Crooked Dice villainous Archetypes

October 3, 2015, 11:34 am

≫ Next: Tsuba RJW, Crooked Dice

≪ Previous: Eldar Harlequins

Just a quick update here. I painted up some new stuff for Crooked Dice, a set of four villains suitable for all sorts of evil doing. Great sculpts, digital ones by the very talented Ernst Veingart. Really shows what can be done with this new fangled digital malarky if you know what you're doing!

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Tsuba RJW, Crooked Dice

October 24, 2015, 8:38 am

≫ Next: Reaper RPG Characters

≪ Previous: Crooked Dice villainous Archetypes

As usual I’ve neglected my blog in favour of Facebook so I’m sure I’m a few updates behind here. I’ve finally finished off the last of the Tsuba Miniatures Russo-Japanese War Japanese. Lots of cavalry both foot and mounted versions. I wish I had some nice terrain to show them off against but I don’t so you just get a pile of models on a gaming mat.

I also painted up a couple more pieces for Crooked Dice. Flamboyant Agent and Evil Mastermind which are both part of their pre-order campaign forthe new edition of 7TV. There’s a rather funky retro TV gaming token too.

Lots of stuff in the to do pile as I try and catch up on the commissions. Lots of Red Box Games stuff, Infinity, Otherworld Miniatures and various odds and ends. So much to do and so little time!

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Reaper RPG Characters

October 31, 2015, 1:16 pm

≫ Next: RBG and some pulp goodness

≪ Previous: Tsuba RJW, Crooked Dice

Just a couple of things to show. Two models from Reaper Miniatures, a fighter (02860 Harald in the reaper catalogue) and what appears to have been a limited edition charity model, the Wizard of Faith. Both models needed mounting on dungeon floor bases but as tends to be the case with many Reaper models they had integral bases that needed removing. I kept most of the wizard’s base intact though to avoid too much messing around with it. The flagstone floor tiles were just cut from thin plastic sheet and sanded and filed to appear worn.

I took a few pictures of the fighter’s shield as I worked on it to show something of the process. When it comes to heraldic designs for shields I tend to like to cheat and use home made decals. In the following images you can see the design that was required.

With a little manipulation I ended up with a black cut out of the design which I then printed off on clear decal paper. Not having a proper decal printer with white ‘ink’ isn’t too much of a problem as I use the decal as a template to paint over once it’s on the model. That way it looks more natural and you can tidy up what may be a low resolution image. It’s a good way to avoid troublesome freehand.

I should mention that using an ink jet printer to make decals does require the use of a sealant to make sure the ink doesn’t just wash off. I use Microscale Industries Liquid Decal Film. I find it’s best to leave the freshly printed decals to fully dry over night otherwise when applying the decal film (with a brush anyway!) the ink can smear even when apparently touch dry. Two coats of the stuff should ensure everything is covered.

I also use two other Microscale products when applying decals. Micro Set is a setting solution that helps decals adhere and just needs a thin coat applying just prior to positioning the decal. There’s also Micro Sol which is a decal softener that can help decals mould to irregular surfaces. All very useful and cheap and long lasting too.

Anyway, like I say, the decal in this case is just a template to be coloured in and here I gave it a coat of VGC Ghost Grey and highlighted with pure white before finishing off the shield background colour and adding the damage and dirt.

The sword blade took a bit of time to do. It’s supposed to be a frost blade and it took a couple of attempts to figure out how best to do it. I think it’s worked out nicely enough. I had a look online for inspiration and ‘how to’s’ but found most of the examples to be airbrushed. Managed to get the blending right using the old fashioned method though (what are they called…? Oh yeah, paint brushes!).

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RBG and some pulp goodness

November 14, 2015, 8:32 am

≫ Next: More RBG Norse

≪ Previous: Reaper RPG Characters

I’ve got a few bits and pieces to show this time around. First up is a small band of Red Box Games Norse (although I reckon the might be an Aenglish model or two in there). I’ve already painted versions of a couple of these models but the others are ‘new’ to me. Always good to paint, especially in these muted colour schemes.

Next are a mixed bunch of pulp types. A pair of Top Agents from Copplestone Castings KKBB range. I like Mark Copplestone’s sculpts but I have to admit that painting these alongside some of the other models here really made me think that these are a little dated looking. Still fun to paint though and a nice change after the more intensive RBG models.

Then there’s Dr Strukov & Sister Anaesthesia from Statuesque Miniatures and DA Denton & Red Queen from Pulp Alley. All digital sculpts by Andrew Rae. I’ve no idea if Statuesque and Pulp Alley are one and the same though. Anyway, doesn’t matter as the models are really nice and it goes to show what can be done with a computer and a 3D printer.

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More RBG Norse

December 6, 2015, 6:05 am

≫ Next: Infinity stuff

≪ Previous: RBG and some pulp goodness

It’s probably about time I made a blog post because as usual I’ve let this slide a bit and completely lost track of how long it’s been since my last post. To be honest I’m finding Facebook infinitely better for throwing quick pics on so if you’re so inclined keep an eye on that. Anyway, this time it’s more Red Box Games stuff. Again it’s Norse types for a growing warband from another commission to that shown in my last post. Six more in the queue and then there’s a box of additional models that I haven’t fully delved into yet so that may be more Norse or perhaps reinforcements for the Aenglish I did as part of this job.

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Infinity stuff

February 6, 2016, 7:45 am

≫ Next: Otherworld Miniatures henchmen & hirelings

≪ Previous: More RBG Norse

It's been a while since my last update here. As usual I've been posting things on my Facebook page on a pretty regular basis. Both my blog activity and forum postings have diminished simply because it's more time consuming to post the same stuff everywhere. Between the website, blog, Facebook, and in the past potentially four or more forums it's just a pain in the arse. Plus there were times when the forum posts just felt like spam. Copying and pasting the same text onto a different forum can be a bit shitty I think but personalising each post makes the process take more time. It's all first world nonsense I suppose.

Anyway since I last posted here I've done various things and lost track of everything I've not shown. I'm sure the more devoted of you have seen things elsewhere. So this post is of some more Infinity stuff that I've just finished and few bits that I did back in December but that I know I haven't shown here.

First up a Mercenary Authorised Bounty Hunter.

Next some Zond Remotes. These can have four weapon configurations so we've got one of each here.

There's also a size comparison pic with the Merc.

Then it's onto the stuff I did last year. A set of hackers or in Infinity speak 'Tunguska Interventors' with a pair of 'Fastpandas'. Went for a Tron thing on the two hackers.

A Vortex Spec. Ops. I'll call him Gary.

And finally another pair of drones, Salyut Zonds this time. These are bigger than the previous models but I didn't think to take a size comparison shot.

Someone over on Lead Adventure Forum (I do occasionally still post there!) asked me what I thought of the Infinity stuff as they were looking to buy some models. I'll reiterate here what I said there. They look great once painted up and it is satisfying to see a force come together (wish I was able to take group pics of everything I've done so far) but they are a lot of work to paint, I find anyway.

My biggest problem with a lot of the models is the assembly side of things. Lots of parts and small, delicate pieces that are really hard to securely fit can be a pain and results in a lot pinning in some cases. The Merc Bounty Hunter came in five pieces for example but I'm sure a skilled mould maker could have gotten the same level of quality from the casting with three or even two pieces (maybe even a single piece casting!). The drones quite understandably came in a number pieces. That's to be expected for models like that. The four recent models I did came in six to nine parts depending on the weapon configuration used. I found that every piece needed pinning together though, especially the sensor vanes on the rear and the weapons. Without doing that these things would likely end up in bits long before they got to the tabletop. Even with the pinning though the two rear side vanes are still very delicate and could be easily knocked off due to not having enough depth to the drill holes (in the vanes in this case). Also the two larger drones had no means of mounting them on a base as the 'feet' didn't offer enough surface area to drill into. I ended up having to clumsily pin into the body and have the pin on view. Almost had a similar issue with the four smaller drones but a thin drill bit and a very steady hand meant I was able to pin them through the wheel units (more bloody pinning though!).

In summary, great looking models but you might have to do a lot of fiddly assembly work (that could have been avoided with better designs) and still be left with some quite delicate models that might be an issue if you're a gamer rather than display painter.

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Otherworld Miniatures henchmen & hirelings

March 5, 2016, 7:17 am

≫ Next: Infinity Pan Oceania troops

≪ Previous: Infinity stuff

I've been busy working through some more stuff by Otherworld Miniatures recently. Henchmen of various sorts from hardened mercenaries to general dog's bodies. Great set of models and I'm always a fan anything in a gambeson. I love the scribe and the treasure looters too.

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Infinity Pan Oceania troops

March 13, 2016, 6:04 am

≫ Next: Red Box Games Aenglish & some Alkemy Kingdom of Avalon

≪ Previous: Otherworld Miniatures henchmen & hirelings

Back to painting some more Infinity models this time. A bit of a change though as most of what I've done Infinity wise has been geared towards the Nomad faction (the red guys if you look back through my gallery) but being given a free reign to pic and choose this time I decided to do some more Pan Oceania troops. Certainly a nice change from the Nomad colour scheme and I'm sure they're much needed reinforcements for their comrades.

Another set of Fusiliers here although these have a different selection of weapons to the first set I did way back whenever. Obviously a sniper and a heavy weapon of some sort in this lot but I'm not too clued up on the subtleties of Infinity firearms.

Then an Indigo Spec-Ops trooper. Similar looking model to the Fusiliers but I wanted to mark him out as being a bit different to them so he got a red beret. That should make him a bit easier to identify on the tabletop and it was a good excuse to inject an alternative colour into the model.

Finally another Akalis Sikh Commando. I think this one has a different weapon to the first one I painted and I really like the pose of this one.

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